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Author: KENYON, JANE Matches Found: 288 Kenyon, Jane Poet's Biography 288 poems available by this author A BOY GOES INTO THE WORLD Poem Text First Line: My brother rode off on his bike Last Line: I at last can claim them as my own Subject(s): Brothers & Sisters; Family Life; Childhood Memories; Relatives AFTER AN EARLY FROST First Line: The cat takes her squealing mouse into the bathtub to play Last Line: Though not for a while AFTER AN ILLNESS, WALKING THE DOG Poem Text First Line: Wet things smell stronger Last Line: Imagines to the end that he is free Subject(s): Dogs AFTER AN ILLNESS, WALKING THE DOG First Line: Wet things smell stronger Last Line: Imagines to the end that he is free AFTER THE DINNER PARTY First Line: A late-blooming burgundy hollyhock sways Last Line: Out the light...And there's an end to it AFTER THE HURRICANE First Line: I walk the fibrous woodland path to the pond Last Line: Who made a sacrament of saying no AFTER TRAVELING First Line: While in silence I take Last Line: Leading a matched pair of pugs %on a bifurcated leash AFTER WORKING LONG ON ONE THING First Line: Through the screen door Last Line: The sky won't darken in the west %until ten. Where shall I turn %this light and tired mind? AFTERNOON AT MACDOWELL Poem Text First Line: On a windy summer day the well-dressed Last Line: To find late innings of a red sox game? Subject(s): Sickness; Illness AFTERNOON AT MACDOWELL First Line: On a windy summer day the well-dressed Last Line: To find late innings of a red sox game AFTERNOON IN THE HOUSE First Line: It's quiet here. The cats Last Line: Sitting in the middle of perfect %possibility ALONE FOR A WEEK Poem Text First Line: I washed a load of clothes Last Line: And allegorical. . . . Subject(s): Solitude ALONE FOR A WEEK First Line: I washed a load of clothes Last Line: Your pillow plump, cool, %and allegorical AMERICAN TRIPTYCH: 1. AT THE STORE Poem Text First Line: Clumps of daffodils along the storefront Last Line: Pulley in the doorway of a country store Subject(s): Country Stores AMERICAN TRIPTYCH: 1. AT THE STORE First Line: Clumps of daffodils along the storefront Last Line: Pulley in the doorway of a country store AMERICAN TRIPTYCH: 2. DOWN THE ROAD First Line: Early summer. Sun low over the pond. Down the road the Last Line: The house, sometimes it tunnels into tall grass at the edge of the %hayfield AMERICAN TRIPTYCH: 3. POTLUCK AT THE WILMOT FLAT BAPTIST CHURCH First Line: We drive to the flat on a clear november night. Stars and Last Line: Again I am struck with love for the republic APPLE DROPPING INTO DEEP SNOW First Line: A jay settled on a branch, making it sway Last Line: Who cry, outraged, lord, when did we see you APPOINTMENT First Line: The phoebe flew back and forth Last Line: I could have heard what you had to say APRIL CHORES First Line: When I take the chilly tools Last Line: Thinks its way up %through loam APRIL WALK First Line: Evening came, and work was done ARGUMENT First Line: On the way to the village store Last Line: And the wish to forestall the argument AT A MOTEL NEAR O'HARE AIRPORT First Line: I sit by the window all morning Last Line: In the parking lot of a motel AT THE DIME STORE First Line: Since I saw him last his teeth have gone Last Line: Of substance was gone, leaving only %white rectangular spaces on the lawn AT THE FEEDER First Line: First the chickadees take Last Line: At bubastis, during the xxiii dynasty AT THE IGA: FRANKLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE Poem Text First Line: This is where I would shop Last Line: Never enough in the bank Subject(s): Family Life; Relatives AT THE IGA: FRANKLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE First Line: This is where I would shop AT THE PUBLIC MARKET MUSEUM: CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA Poem Text First Line: A volunteer, a daughter of the confederacy Subject(s): Americans; United States; America AT THE PUBLIC MARKET MUSEUM: CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA First Line: A volunteer, a daughter of the confederacy Last Line: Blue. It was what both sides %agreed to do Subject(s): Americans; United States AT THE SPANISH STEPS IN ROME First Line: Keats had come with his friend severn Last Line: In accordance with the law is there AT THE SUMMER SOLSTICE First Line: Noon heat. And later, hotter still Last Line: To come with sleepy eyhes, and pass your fingers %lightly, lightly up my thighs AT THE TOWN DUMP First Line: Sometimes I nod to my neighbor Last Line: With the rest of what was mine AT THE WINTER SOLSTICE First Line: The pines look black in the half-light of dawn. Stillness Last Line: Black dust from the binding rubbed off %on my hands, and on the altar cloth AUGUST RAIN, AFTER HAYING First Line: Through sere trees and beheaded Last Line: After something it cannot name BACK First Line: We try a new drug, a new combination Last Line: Into the toe of my christmas stocking BACK FROM THE CITY First Line: After three days and nights of rich food Last Line: Then feed my sheep' BAT First Line: I was reading about rationalism Last Line: The one who astounded mary %by suddenly coming near BEAVER POOL IN DECEMBER First Line: The brook is still open Last Line: In an unconflicted mind BISCUIT Poem Text First Line: The dog has cleaned his bowl Last Line: Might have given him a stone Subject(s): Dogs BISCUIT First Line: The dog has cleaned his bowl Last Line: Might have given him a stone BLUE BOWL First Line: Like primitives we buried the cat Last Line: But always says the wrong thing BOX OF BEADS First Line: This morning I came across Last Line: That held them around her neck BOY GOES INTO THE WORLD First Line: My brother rode off on his bike Last Line: I at last can claim them as my own BREAKFAST AT THE MOUNT WASHINGTON HOTEL First Line: In the valley a warm spring rain BRIEFLY IT ENTERS, AND BRIEFLY SPEAKS Poem Text First Line: I am the blossom pressed in a book Last Line: When you think to call my name... Subject(s): God BRIEFLY IT ENTERS, AND BRIEFLY SPEAKS First Line: I am the blossom pressed in a book Last Line: When you think to call my name BRIGHT SUN AFTER HEAVY SNOW Poem Text First Line: A ledge of ice slides from the eaves Last Line: It, too, rises and falls Subject(s): Snow; Neighbors BRIGHT SUN AFTER HEAVY SNOW First Line: A ledge of ice slides from the eaves Last Line: Wooden pin is left, solitary as a finger; %it, too, rises and falls CAGES First Line: Driving to winter park in march Last Line: No longer caring what anyone thinks CALL First Line: I lunged out of sleep toward the ringing Last Line: For a moment like still more rain CAMP EVERGREEN First Line: The boats like huge bright birds Last Line: Longed-for, possessed, luxurious, and sad CAMPERS LEAVING: SUMMER 1981 First Line: Just now two chartered buses from boston Last Line: That every word has been spoken to me CATCHING FROGS First Line: I crouched beside the deepest pool Last Line: Laughter, though I don't remember laughter CESAREAN First Line: The surgeon with his unapologetic Last Line: Out, and why did everybody shout CHANGES First Line: The cast-iron kitchen range Last Line: And bicycles, howling, %waving his arms in the air CHANGING LIGHT First Line: Clouds move over the mountain Last Line: Between their shoulder blades CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM HOME Poem Text First Line: Her sickness brought me to connecticut. Last Line: Forwarded, will begin to reach me here Subject(s): Christmas; Absence; Nativity, The; Separation; Isolation CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM HOME First Line: Her sickness brought me to connecticut Last Line: Forwarded, will begin to reach me here CHRYSANTHEMUMS First Line: The doctor averted his eyes Last Line: Overwhelming that we began to cry, %he first, and then I CHURCH FAIR Poem Text First Line: Who knows what I might find Last Line: Today, so they'll be ripe by saturday Subject(s): Church Fairs CHURCH FAIR First Line: Who knows what I might find Last Line: Today, so they'll be ripe by saturday CIRCLE ON THE GRASS First Line: Last night the wind came into the yard Last Line: Dark in the center, like an eye CLEANING THE CLOSET First Line: This must be the suit you wore Last Line: Fumble to put the suit %back where it was CLEARING First Line: The dog and I push through the ring Last Line: Is wait for you to come back to me CLIMB First Line: From the porch of our house we can see Last Line: The muscular shoulders of a patient hawk CLOTHES PIN First Line: How much better it is Last Line: With a gray-brown wooden clothes pin COATS Poem Text First Line: I saw him leaving the hospital Last Line: For irremediable cold Subject(s): Death; Dead, The COATS First Line: I saw him leaving the hospital Last Line: The hood under his chin, preparing %for irremediable cold COLD First Line: I don't know why it made me happy to see the pond ice over Last Line: Bed-the pillows cold, as if I had not been there two minutes %before COLORS First Line: Sometimes I agreed with you Last Line: And all by insensible degrees COMING HOME AT TWILIGHT IN LATE SUMMER Poem Text First Line: Se turned into the drive Last Line: And ate, and were grateful Subject(s): Homecoming COMING HOME AT TWILIGHT IN LATE SUMMER First Line: We turned into the drive Last Line: And we each took a pear, %and ate, and were grateful CULTURAL EXCHANGE First Line: A postcard arrives from a friend %visiting the great wall of china Last Line: That night I was honored by a banquet %in a room so cold I could see my breath DARK MORNING: SNOW First Line: It falls on the vole, nosing somewhere Last Line: There's nothing I want DEER SEASON First Line: November, late afternoon. I'm driving fast Last Line: I plan our evening meal DEPRESSION First Line: ...A mote. A little world. Dusty. Dusty Last Line: Burst out to tell the men, are not believed DEPRESSION IN WINTER First Line: There comes, a little space between the south Last Line: Turned back down my path, chastened and calm DRAWING FROM THE PAST Poem Text First Line: Only mama and I were at home Last Line: To that, too Subject(s): Childhood Memories DRAWING FROM THE PAST First Line: Only mama and I were at home Last Line: Was good at it, and I alert %to that, too DRINK, EAT, SLEEP First Line: I never drink from this blue tin cup Last Line: But the pages were like hnoney %to his tongue DRY WINTER First Line: So little snow that the grass in the field Last Line: Has never entirely disappeared DUTCH INTERIORS Poem Text First Line: Christ has been done to death Last Line: With an air of cautious pleasure Subject(s): Paintings & Painters DUTCH INTERIORS First Line: Christ has been done to death Last Line: With an air of cautious pleasure EATING THE COOKIES First Line: The cousin from maine, knowing Last Line: It seemed like the next thing to do EVENING AT A COUNTRY INN First Line: From here I see aq single red cloud Last Line: The beautiful sane and solid bales of hay EVENING SUN Poem Text First Line: Why does this light force me back Last Line: But does not consume / my heart Subject(s): Childhood Memories EVENING SUN First Line: Why does this light force me back Last Line: What sorrow burns %but does not destroy my heart FALLING First Line: March. Rain. Five days now Last Line: Of living without possessions FAT First Line: The doctor says it's better for my spine Last Line: Noodles gleaming with cream, yams, and plums, %and chapati fried in ghee FATHER AND SON First Line: August. My neighbor started cutting wood Last Line: As it happened, of their life together FEAR OF DEATH AWAKENS ME First Line: ...Or it's a cloud-shadow passing over tuckerman Last Line: Back the way I came, hoping to avoid more cold FEBRUARY: THINKING OF FLOWERS Poem Text First Line: Now wind torments the field Subject(s): Flowers; Gardens & Gardening FEBRUARY: THINKING OF FLOWERS First Line: Now wind torments the field Last Line: To the tongue of the burgundy lily Subject(s): Flowers; Gardens And Gardening FINDING A LONG GRAY HAIR First Line: I scrub the long floorboards Last Line: I feel my life added to theirs FIRST EIGHT DAYS OF THE BEARD First Line: 1. A page of exclamation points Last Line: 8. The toenails of the face FOR THE NIGHT First Line: The mare kicks %in her darkening stall, knocks Last Line: And the bat lets %go of the rafter, falls %into black air FROM ROOM TO ROOM First Line: Here in this house, among photographs Last Line: Taking a look around FROM THE BACK STEPS First Line: A bird begins to sing Last Line: Not sure what the color will be FROST FLOWERS First Line: Sap withdraws from the upper reaches Last Line: The last loud rupture of the calm FULL MOON IN WINTER First Line: Bare branches rise %and fall overhead Last Line: Of living in a body, %needy and full of desire GERANIUM First Line: How many years did I lug it, pale and leggy Last Line: Head its head had grown too large GETTYSBURG: JULY 1, 1863 First Line: The young man, hardly more Last Line: Trunk of a tree, but he did not %see it with his open eye GOING AWAY First Line: Like varya in the cherry orchard Last Line: Left in the silent house, like firs GUEST First Line: I had opened the draft on the stove Last Line: Someone carrying on alone HANGING PICTURES IN NANNY'S ROOM First Line: When people reminisce about her they say how cross she Last Line: Prided herself on her repose of manner HAPPINESS Poem Text Recitation by Author First Line: There's just no accounting for happiness Last Line: To the wineglass, weary of holding wine Subject(s): Happiness; Joy; Delight HAPPINESS First Line: There's just no accounting for happiness Last Line: To the wineglass, weary of holding wine HAVING IT OUT WITH MELANCHOLY Poem Text First Line: When I was born, you waited Last Line: Its bright, unequivocal eye Subject(s): Sickness; Illness HAVING IT OUT WITH MELANCHOLY First Line: When I was born, you waited Last Line: Singing in the great maples; %its bright, unequivocal eye HAVING IT OUT WITH MELANCHOLY: 8. CREDO First Line: Pharmaceutical wonders are at work Last Line: When I awake, I am still with thee HAVING IT OUT WITH MELANCHOLY: 9. WOOD THRUSH First Line: High on nardil and june light Last Line: Its bright, unequivocal eye HEAVY SUMMER RAIN Poem Text Recitation by Author First Line: The grasses in the field have toppled, Last Line: Lie shattered on the lawn Subject(s): Rain; Loss HEAVY SUMMER RAIN First Line: The grasses in the field have toppled Last Line: With their black and secret centers %lie shattered on the lawn HERE First Line: You always belonged here Last Line: The first pale and tentative %root hair in a glass of water HERMIT First Line: The meeting ran needlessly late Last Line: With bowls of freshly opened blossoms HIGH WATER First Line: Eight days of rain; %the ground refuses more Last Line: And moving headlong away from here HIGH WATER First Line: Eight days of rain HOMESICK First Line: My clothes and hair smell stale Last Line: Paste, and rank pink laurel wine HOW LIKE THE SOUND First Line: How like the sound of laughing weeping Last Line: Vanished behind the morning register ICE OUT Poem Text First Line: As late as yesterday ice preoccupied Last Line: Sighs, sneezes, and closes his eyes Subject(s): Nature ICE OUT First Line: As late as yesterday ice preoccupied Last Line: Sighs, sneezes, and closes his eyes ICE STORM Poem Text First Line: For the hemlocks and broad-leafed evergreens Last Line: Extreme, which I intuit, but can't quite name. Subject(s): Longing; Beauty ICE STORM First Line: For the hemlocks and broad-leafed evergreens Last Line: Extreme, which I intuit, but can't quite name IN MEMORY OF JACK First Line: Once, coming down the long hill Last Line: Lights of annihilation and release IN SEVERAL COLORS Poem Text First Line: Every morning, cup of coffee Last Line: For a part in the opera Subject(s): Colors; Cats IN SEVERAL COLORS First Line: Every morning, cup of coffee Last Line: For a part in the opera IN THE GROVE: THE POET AT TEN First Line: She lay on her back in the timothy Last Line: It was hard to distinguish from pain IN THE NURSING HOME First Line: She is like a horse grazing Last Line: Master, come with your light %halter. Come and bring her in INERTIA Poem Text First Line: My head was heavy, heavy Last Line: In a pile of mail Subject(s): Centipedes; Inertia INERTIA First Line: My head was heavy, heavy Last Line: Over the edge of the page, and vanish %in a pile of mail INPATIENT Poem Text First Line: The young attendants wrapped him in a red Subject(s): Literary Form INPATIENT First Line: The young attendants wrapped him in a red Last Line: The suitcase with his streetclothes in the car Subject(s): Literary Form INSOMNIA First Line: The almost disturbing scent Last Line: Put grass in their jar in the morning INSOMNIA AT THE SOLSTICE First Line: The quicksilver song %of the wood thrush spills Last Line: All night, and now I'll have %to entertain you all day IRONING GRANDMOTHER'S TABLECLOTH First Line: As a bride, you made it smooth Last Line: Whose child I am, whether I have children KILLING THE PLANTS Poem Text First Line: That year I discovered the virtues Last Line: Flowers, the example of persistence Subject(s): Plants; Planting; Planters KILLING THE PLANTS First Line: That year I discovered the virtues LAST DAYS First Line: Over the orchard a truly black cloud appeared Last Line: A housefly lit on her blue-white brow LEARNING IN THE FIRST GRADE Poem Text First Line: The cup is read. The drop of rain Subject(s): Education; Schools; Students LEARNING IN THE FIRST GRADE First Line: The cup is read. The drop of rain Last Line: Muttering under his beard Subject(s): Education; Schools LEAVING BARBADOS First Line: Just as the sun pitched summarily over Last Line: Pink, copen, lavender,black and red. %tonight another couple will sleep in our bed LEAVING TOWN First Line: It was late august when we left. I gave away my plants, all but Last Line: And part of the next morning LET EVENING COME Poem Text First Line: Let the light of late afternoon Last Line: Comfortless, so let evening come Subject(s): Evening; Time; Sunset; Twilight LET EVENING COME First Line: Let the light of late afternoon Last Line: Be afraid. God does not leave us %comfortless, so let evening come LETTER First Line: Bad news arrives in her distinctive hand Last Line: And we go the long way home LETTER IN AUTUMN First Line: This first october of your death Last Line: And I the gray oak alongside LETTER TO ALICE First Line: Twilight. A few bats loop out of the barn Last Line: For their first year. More flowers, more art. %write LINES FOR AKHMATOVA First Line: The night train from moscow, beginning to slow Last Line: Or if the secret of secrets is within me again LITTER First Line: I poured the unused coffee grounds Last Line: In windows I've never before seen open LITTLE BOAT First Line: As soon as spring peepers sounded from the stream Last Line: Bending over a book), and no one knew I was not %where I seemed to be LOOKING AT STARS First Line: The god of curved space, the dry Last Line: The hem of his mother's robe MAIN STREET: TILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE First Line: I waited in the car while he Last Line: By others equally equivocal MAN EATING Poem Text First Line: The man at the table across from mine Last Line: With a pearl-white plastic spoon Subject(s): Food & Eating MAN EATING First Line: The man at the table across from mine Last Line: With a pearl-white plastic spoon MAN SLEEPING Poem Text First Line: Large flakes of snow fall slowly, far Last Line: Or like abel, broken, at his brother’s feet Subject(s): Homeless MAN SLEEPING First Line: Large flakes of snow fall slowly, far Last Line: Or like abel, broken, at his brother's feet MAN WAKING Poem Text First Line: The room was already light when Last Line: Not the utter darkness he desired Subject(s): Waking MAN WAKING First Line: The room was already light when Last Line: Not the utter darkness he desired MOSAIC OF THE NATIVITY: SERBIA, WINTER, 1993 Poem Text First Line: On the domed ceiling god Last Line: Lodges and begins to grow Subject(s): Balkan Conflicts (yugoslavia); Christmas; Serbia; Nativity, The; Servia MOSAIC OF THE NATIVITY: SERBIA, WINTER, 1993 First Line: On the domed ceiling god Last Line: Of christ, cloaked in blood, %lodges and begins to grow Subject(s): Balkan Conflicts (yugoslavia); Christmas; Serbia MOVING THE FRAME First Line: Impudent spring has come Last Line: Time, but I woke up again MUD SEASON First Line: Here in purgatory bare ground Last Line: Of purple, but for the moment %holds its tongue MY MOTHER First Line: My mother comes back from a trip downtown to the dimestore Last Line: When she goes downtown, I think she will not come back NEEDLE First Line: Grandmother, you are as pale Last Line: Like the young nurse with the needle NO First Line: The last prayer had been said Last Line: Whether to stay, or leave her there NO STEPS Poem Text Recitation by Author First Line: The young bull dropped his head and stared Last Line: In a zip-lock plastic sandwich bag Subject(s): Bulls NO STEPS First Line: The young bull dropped his head and stared NOT HERE Poem Text First Line: Searching for pillowcases trimmed Last Line: Or evening paper, unaware Subject(s): Home; Mice NOT HERE First Line: Searching for pillowcases trimmed Last Line: And we read the mail %or evening paper, unaware NOT WRITING First Line: A wasp rises to its papery Last Line: To enter its own house NOTES FROM THE OTHER SIDE Poem Text First Line: I divested myself of despair Last Line: To be mercy clothed in light Subject(s): Heaven; Paradise NOTES FROM THE OTHER SIDE First Line: I divested myself of despair Last Line: And god, as promised, proves %to be mercy clothed in light NOVEMBER CALF Poem Text First Line: She calved in the ravine, beside Subject(s): Farm Life; Agriculture; Farmers NOVEMBER CALF First Line: She calved in the ravine, beside Last Line: A frayed and knotted scrap of rope Subject(s): Farm Life NOW THAT WE LIVE First Line: Fat spider by the door Last Line: Under the blue %imperturbable mountain NOW WHERE? First Line: It wakes when I wake, walks Last Line: Cool clear weather; heat, rain ON THE AISLE Poem Text First Line: Goodbye to maui - to orchids on our plates Last Line: And he runs for it Subject(s): Air Travel; Farewell; Parting ON THE AISLE First Line: Leaving maui -- orchids on our plates Last Line: A close connection to tucson, %and runs for it OTHERWISE Poem Text First Line: I got out of bed Last Line: It will be otherwise Subject(s): Family Life; Mortality; Relatives OTHERWISE First Line: I got out of bed %on two strong legs Last Line: But one day, I know, %it will be otherwise PAINTERS First Line: A hot dry day in early fall PARENTS' WEEKEND: CAMP KENWOOD First Line: Midmorning the company of cars Last Line: Everything seemed right just as it was PEAR First Line: There is a moment in middle age Last Line: Until things have gone too far PEONIES AT DUSK Poem Text First Line: White peonies blooming along the porch Last Line: A loved one’s face Subject(s): Peonies PEONIES AT DUSK First Line: White peonies blooming along the porch Last Line: Search it as a woman searches %a loved one's face PHARAOH Poem Text First Line: The future ain’t what it used to be Last Line: Water, a book and a pen Subject(s): Baseball PHARAOH First Line: The future ain't what it used to be,' Last Line: Life surrounded you -- your comb and glasses, %water, a book and a pen PHILOSOPHY IN WARM WEATHER Poem Text First Line: Now all the doors and windows Last Line: Pulling up the corn Subject(s): Heat PHILOSOPHY IN WARM WEATHER First Line: Now all the doors and windows Last Line: Beyond alarm, goes right on %pulling up the corn PHOTOGRAPH OF A CHILD ON A VERMONT HILLSIDE First Line: Beside the rocking horse, for which Last Line: Barefoot in the dusty drive %after the supper dishes are done POND AT DUSK First Line: A fly wounds the water but the wound Last Line: And the men struggle with the casket %just clearing the pews PORTION OF HISTORY First Line: The sweet breath of someone's laundry Last Line: Head bobbing wildly on its frail stem PORTRAIT OF A FIGURE NEAR WATER Poem Text First Line: Rebuked, she turned and ran Last Line: Then water enters, though it makes / no sound Subject(s): Anger PORTRAIT OF A FIGURE NEAR WATER First Line: Rebuked, she turned and ran Last Line: Then water enters, though it makes %no sound POTATO Poem Text First Line: In haste one evening while making dinner Subject(s): Food Habits; Potatoes POTATO First Line: In haste one evening while making dinner Last Line: Hand-me-down clothes on the line Subject(s): Food Habits; Potatoes PRIVATE BEACH Poem Text First Line: It is always the dispossessed— Last Line: And proper reward for work Subject(s): Inanimate Objects PRIVATE BEACH First Line: It is always the dispossessed Last Line: And proper reward for work PROGNOSIS First Line: I walked alone in the chill of dawn Last Line: Settled, the bough did not sway RAIN IN JANUARY First Line: I woke before dawn, still Last Line: I let it hang beside me, pale, %useless, and strange READING ALOUD TO MY FATHER Poem Text First Line: I chose the book haphazard Last Line: And let them pull it free Subject(s): Books & Reading; Fathers & Daughters; Mortality READING ALOUD TO MY FATHER First Line: I chose the book haphazard Last Line: And you must honor that desire %and let them pull it free READING LATE OF THE DEATH OF KEATS First Line: I tried to distract myself by reading Last Line: Until it flew or fell away SANDY HOLE First Line: The infant's coffin no bigger than a flightbag Last Line: No one dares to come near him, even to touch his sleeve SECRET First Line: In a glass case marked 'estate jewelry' Last Line: My agitation has dropped away SEPTEMBER GARDEN PARTY First Line: We sit with friends at the round Last Line: Passes through the wine SHIRT First Line: The shirt touches his neck Last Line: Down into his pants. %lucky shirt SICK AT SUMMER'S END First Line: Today from the darkened room I heard Last Line: I'm falling upward, nothing to hold me down SICK WIFE First Line: The sick wife stayed in the car Last Line: That it made her sick at heart SIESTA: BARBADOS First Line: From bed we heard SIESTA: HOTEL FRATTINA First Line: Midafternoon the sound of weeping in the hall Last Line: By four on a november afternoon SLEEPERS IN JAIPUR First Line: A mango moon climbs the dark Last Line: From its cool terra-cotta urn SMALL EARLY VALENTINE First Line: Wind plays the spy %opens and closes doors Last Line: Lifting his head and ears %when after twenty years %odysseusapproached him SOCKS First Line: While you were away Last Line: Tight dark fists SONG First Line: An oriole sings from the hedge Last Line: Under every leaf and tongue SPRING CHANGES First Line: The autumnal drone of my neighbor Last Line: And 'be careful!' through the glass SPRING EVENING First Line: Again the thrush affirms Last Line: Waits to sow his corn SPRING SNOW First Line: A thoughtful snow comes falling....%seems to hang in the air before Last Line: Dodging the clothesline won't %use until peonies send up red, %plump, irrepressible spears STARTING THERAPY First Line: The psychiatrist moves toward me Last Line: Where we lived when I was four STAYING AT GRANDMA'S Poem Text First Line: Sometimes they left me for the day Last Line: And leave the other there alone? Subject(s): Grandparents; Holy Ghost; Religion; Grandmothers; Grandfathers; Great Grandfathers; Great Grandmothers; Holy Spirit; Theology STAYING AT GRANDMA'S First Line: Sometimes they left me for the day Last Line: And leave the other there alone Subject(s): Grandparents; Holy Ghost; Religion STROLLER First Line: It was copen blue, strong and bright Last Line: To interrogate your wounds, the progress %of your beating heart SUITOR First Line: We lie back to back. Curtains Last Line: For short visits, like a timid suitor SUMMER 1890: NEAR THE GULF First Line: The hour was late, and the others Last Line: Before her, like a bright light %before a closed eye SUMMER: 6:00 A.M. First Line: From the shadowy upstairs bedroom Last Line: Swell on the kitchen %floor beside the child's shoe SUN AND MOON Poem Text First Line: Drugged and drowsy but not asleep Last Line: On the table in the hall Subject(s): Sickness; Illness SUN AND MOON First Line: Drugged and drowsy but not asleep Last Line: Accrued unopened %on the table in the hall SURPRISE Poem Text First Line: He suggests pancakes at the local diner Last Line: Accomplishment with which he has lied Subject(s): Lies SURPRISE First Line: He suggests pancakes at the local diner Last Line: Accomplishment with which he has lied TAKING DOWN THE TREE Poem Text First Line: Give me some light! Cries hamlet's Last Line: We're having, let it be extravagant Subject(s): Family Life; Relatives TAKING DOWN THE TREE First Line: Give me some light!' cries hamlet's Last Line: We're having, let it be extravagant TEACHER Poem Text First Line: Sometimes there's gravel on the bend Last Line: While they wait for evening thaw Subject(s): Teaching & Teachers; Educators; Professors TEACHER First Line: Sometimes there's gravel on the bend THE ARGUMENT Poem Text First Line: On the way to the village store Last Line: And the wish to forestall the argument Subject(s): Religion; Death; Theology; Dead, The THE BAT Poem Text First Line: I was reading about rationalism Last Line: By suddenly coming near Subject(s): Bats THE BLUE BOWL Poem Text Recitation by Author First Line: Like primitives we buried the cat Last Line: But always says the wrong thing Subject(s): Death - Animals; Cats THE CALL Poem Text First Line: I lunged out of sleep toward the ringin Last Line: For a moment like still more rain Subject(s): Sickness; Mothers; Rain THE CLEARING Poem Text Recitation by Author First Line: The dog and I push through the ring Last Line: Is wait for you to come back to me Subject(s): Dogs; Love - Loss Of THE POND AT DUSK Poem Text First Line: A fly wounds the water but the wound Last Line: Just clearing the pews Subject(s): Death; Dead, The THE SHIRT Poem Text Recitation First Line: The shirt touches his neck Last Line: Lucky shirt Subject(s): Love; Clothing & Dress THE SUITOR Poem Text First Line: We lie back to back. Curtains Last Line: For short visits, like a timid suitor Subject(s): Happiness; Joy; Delight THE WAY THINGS ARE IN FRANKLIN Poem Text First Line: Even the undertaker is going out Subject(s): Americans; United States; America THIMBLE First Line: I found a silver thimble Last Line: Words the wearer must have spoken THINGS Poem Text First Line: The hen flings a single pebble aside Subject(s): Religion; Theology THINGS First Line: The hen flings a single pebble aside Last Line: Must fall, glad at last to have fallen Subject(s): Religion THINKING OF MADAME BOVARY Poem Text First Line: The first hot april day the granite step Last Line: The ant was struggling with its own desire Subject(s): Nature THINKING OF MADAME BOVARY First Line: The first hot april day the granite step Last Line: The ant was struggling with its own desire THIS MORNING Poem Text First Line: The barn bears the weight Last Line: Tremble as it passes Subject(s): Farm Life; Snow; Agriculture; Farmers THIS MORNING First Line: The barn bears the weight Last Line: Making the house %tremble as it passes THREE CROWS First Line: Three crows fly across a gun-metal Last Line: Hang bright against wet black bark %'I lived,' he said 'all my life %on the edge of another's nest' THREE SMALL ORANGES First Line: My old flannel nightgown, the elbows out Last Line: And three small hard green oranges THREE SONGS AT THE END OF SUMMER Poem Text First Line: A second crop of hay lies cut Last Line: It was the only life I had Subject(s): Summer THREE SONGS AT THE END OF SUMMER First Line: A second crop of hay lies cut Last Line: It was the only life I had Subject(s): Summer THREE SUSANS First Line: Ancient maples mingle over us, leaves Last Line: And wild cats are stalking in the moat TRAVEL: AFTER A DEATH First Line: We drove past farms, the hills terraced with sheep Subject(s): Death; Literary Form; Dead, The TRAVEL: AFTER A DEATH First Line: We drove past farms, the hills terraced with sheep Last Line: Oh, when am I going to own my mind again Subject(s): Death; Literary Form TROUBLE WITH MATH IN A ONE-ROOM COUNTRY SCHOOL Poem Text First Line: The others bent their heads and started in Last Line: And changed, back to the class Subject(s): Education; Schools; Shame; Students TROUBLE WITH MATH IN A ONE-ROOM COUNTRY SCHOOL First Line: The others bent their heads and started in Last Line: And changed, back to the class Subject(s): Education; Schools; Shame TWILIGHT: AFTER HAYING Poem Text Recitation First Line: Yes, long shadows go out Last Line: Grows wet with dew Subject(s): Hay & Haymaking; Religion; Theology TWILIGHT: AFTER HAYING First Line: Yes, long shadows go out Last Line: The ravaged field %grows wet with dew Subject(s): Hay And Haymaking; Religion TWO DAYS ALONE First Line: You are not here. I keep Last Line: Nothing tells me that I don't VISIT First Line: The talkative guest has gone Last Line: And the delicate sadness of dusk WAITING First Line: At the grocery store on a rainy july day Last Line: And she will wait. Life is odd...%I too am waiting, though if your asked %what for, I wouldn't know WAKING IN JANUARY BEFORE DAWN First Line: Something that sounded like the town Last Line: Humpbacked and headless on the chair WALKING ALONE IN LATE WINTER First Line: How long the winter has lasted -- like a mahler Last Line: Of chill, sends me hurrying home WALKING NOTES: HAMDEN, CONNECTICUT First Line: Wearing only her nightdress Last Line: He mowed, and now she waters listlessly WASH First Line: All day the blanket snapped and swelled Last Line: Restless, under its fragrant weight WASH DAY Poem Text First Line: How it rained while you slept! Wakeful Subject(s): Flowers; Gardens & Gardening WASH DAY First Line: How it rained while you slept! Wakeful Last Line: You'll laugh, but I feel it - %some power has gone from the sun Subject(s): Flowers; Gardens And Gardening WAY THINGS ARE IN FRANKLIN First Line: Even the undertaker is going out Last Line: We sometimes feel when others fail Subject(s): Americans; United States WE LET THE BOAT DRIFT First Line: I set out for the pond, crossing the ravine Last Line: After a long time, and well away from humankind WHAT CAME TO ME Poem Text First Line: I took the last / dusty piece of china Subject(s): Loss WHAT CAME TO ME First Line: I took the last %dusty piece of china Last Line: I grieved for you then; %as I never had before Subject(s): Loss WHILE WE WERE ARGUING Poem Text First Line: The first snow fell - or should I say Subject(s): Religion; Theology WHILE WE WERE ARGUING First Line: The first snow fell - or should I say Last Line: Between disintegrating clouds. I said %aloud. 'you see, we have done harm' Subject(s): Religion WHIRLIGIGS Poem Text First Line: Two bearded men: one chops a log Last Line: Waving our arms to scare the crows away Subject(s): Farm Life; Agriculture; Farmers WHIRLIGIGS First Line: Two bearded men: one chops a log WHO First Line: These lines are written Last Line: The words which are my food WINDFALLS First Line: The storm is moving on, and as the wind Last Line: When I stopped, begin to move again WINTER LAMBS Poem Text First Line: All night snow came upon us Last Line: Agree or disagree Subject(s): Winter; Lambs; Birth; Child Birth; Midwifery WINTER LAMBS First Line: All night snow came upon us Last Line: As we fall into this life, %agree or disagree WITH THE DOG AT SUNRISE First Line: Although we always come this way Last Line: Pines, nose to steaming nose WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU WEEPING? Poem Text First Line: The morning after the crucifixion Subject(s): Women WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU WEEPING? First Line: The morning after the crucifixion Last Line: Of the black oarsman on the oars Subject(s): Women WORK First Line: It has been light since four. In june Last Line: Like the rest. And oh, your sigh %the sigh you sighed then YARD SALE Poem Text First Line: Under the stupefying sun Last Line: "and one she calls ""ghost with long legs." Subject(s): Yard Sales YARD SALE First Line: Under the stupefying sun Last Line: And one she calls 'ghost with long legs.' YEAR DAY First Line: We are living together on the earth Last Line: Of my hands. Wear them in your hair |
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